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Palm Oil

What is Palm Oil?

Palm oil is derived from the fruit of the oil palm tree. The palm fruit yields both palm oil and palm kernel oil. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit and is an edible oil used in food. Palm kernel oil is extracted from the seed of the fruit and is used in the manufacture of cosmetics.

There are two main species of oil palm tree; Elaeis guineensis, native to West Africa and Elaeis oleifera, native to Central and South America. Both species grow in tropical regions including Columbia in South America, New Guinea in the Pacific, Ghana in Africa and Indonesia and Malaysia in Southeast Asiia.

Palm oil plantations are the main driver for deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia. These two regions account for 85 percent of global production of palm oil.

What is the Threat to Orangutans?

Palm oil is often cultivated in an unsustainable way, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia in Southeast Asia. The unsustainable establishment of mass palm oil plantations is harming the environment and various species of animals.

Environmental Impacts

The United Nations Environment Programme has announced that palm oil plantations are now the leading cause of rainforest destruction in Malaysia and Indonesia in Southeast Asia. Throughout Southeast Asia, an area of forest equal to 300 soccer fields is being destroyed every hour.

The burning of forests to clear land for palm oil plantations is a major cause of air pollution in Southeast Asia. It releases CO2 into the atmosphere which contributes to global warming. Research shows that 15% of all global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels come from rainforest destruction.

Threatening Endangered Species

Deforestation for the establishment of palm oil plantations is responsible for habitat loss for threatened and endangered species. Priority species impacted by forest clearing are the Asian elephant, tiger, Sumatran rhinoceros and the orangutan. The Asian elephant and Bornean orangutan are endangered and the tiger, Sumatran rhinoceros and Sumatran orangutan are Critically Endangered.

Palm Oil Plantations Endangering Orangutans

During the past decade the orangutan population has decreased by approximately 50 percent in the wild. This is primarily due to human activities including rainforest destruction for palm oil plantations. At present, 80 percent of orangutan habitat has been altered or lost.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUNC) has classified the Bornean orangutan as Endangered with approximately 55,000 left. The Sumatran orangutan is Critically Endangered with approximately 6,300. At the current rate of deforestation could be extinct in the wild in as little as 10 years.

What Products Contain Palm Oil?

Palm oil is the second most widely produced edible oil. Each year, Australia imports approximately 130,000 tons of palm oil.

Palm oil and its derivatives are found in around 50 percent of all packaged foods on Australian shelves. It has a longer shelf life than other vegetable oils making it more appealing for food production. Palm oil is found in many food products including biscuits, chips, crackers and batters. It is also found in toothpaste, soap, shampoo and cosmetics.

In recent years palm oil based biodiesel has entered the European market. While biofuel has been promoted as an effective means of reducing emissions, establishing palm oil plantations increases greenhouse emissions. Although Australia does not currently offer palm oil based biodiesel, if crude oil prices continue to rise the demand for biofuels may increase.

Download a palm oil factsheet

Identifying Products Containing Palm oil

Only 3 vegetable oils must be labelled in food products in Australia. They are peanut oil, sesame oil and soybean oil.
All other vegetable oils can be labelled as vegetable oil. However, the label must declare the amount of saturated fat in the product.
Vegetable oil containing saturated fat is palm kernel oil, palm oil or coconut oil.
Names used to describe palm oil:

Palm Oil Names

Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Can also be from coconut)
Sodium Lauryl Sulphates (Can also be from ricinus oil)
Sodium dodecyl Sulphate (SDS or NaDS)
Palmate
Palm Oil Kernal
Palmitate

Cosmetics

Elaeis Guineensis
Glyceryl Stearate
Stearic Acid

Chemicals

Steareth -2
Steareth -20
Sodium Lauryl Sulphate
Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (coconut and/or palm)
Hydrated palm glycerides
Sodium isostearoyl lactylaye (derived from vegetable stearic acid)
Cetyl palmitate and octyl palmitate (and anything with palmitate at the end)

Visit the Palm Oil Action Group shopping guide for more information on what products contain palm oil.
http://www.palmoilaction.org.au/pages/shopping-guide.html

Certified Sustainable Palm Oil

You can speak on behalf of wild animals such as orang-utans and Sumatran Tigers who are losing their habitat at an unprecedented rate due to the unsustainable production of palm oil.

The best action you can take right now is to write letters to keep the pressure on government and food manufacturers.

Write to your local politicians. Ask them what they are doing to help achieve mandatory labelling.

Write to the manufacturers of your favourite foods. Find out if they are using palm oil and, if so, whether it's certified sustainable and how and where they source it.

As a consumer, you really can make a difference just by making your voice heard.

How You Can Help

As a consumer, there is a lot you can do to voice your opinion no palm oil labeling and awareness. Here are some ideas to get you started;

Get writing! Download our letter writing kit for sample letters for politicians, companies and important contacts and addresses. This kit gives you all you need to organise a letter-writing bee or to get busy yourself. We know that individual letters to decision makers work.
Write to your Federal Member and demand that they legislate to make Palm Oil labeling mandatory.
Write to the Malaysian and Indonesian Embassies and ask them what they are doing to stop Palm Oil from destroying Orangutan habitat.
Write to any food supplier that lists vegetable oil as an ingredient and ask them if they use Palm Oil. If so, what are they doing to ensure that it doesn't affect Orangutan habitat.
Inform family and friends.
Visit the "Don't Palm Us Off" campaign website for more ideas

Companies who have ceased using palm oil

Public pressure is the best weapon in bringing about change. Cadbury removed palm oil from its dairy milk chocolate range in Australia and New Zealand as a result of complaints from the public.